He’s hiked through the jungles of Rwanda with mountain gorillas, watched volcanos erupt, hurricanes rage and gone behind North Korea’s iron curtain. On Nov. 8, global adventurer George Kourounis selected a closer destination for a talk on climate change: the University of Alberta.

“I love to share my stories and adventures documenting nature, talking to students, teachers and museums and showing them how amazing Planet Earth can be,” the 47-year-old said. “I’ve gone to all seven continents at least three times each and I’m up to 65 countries now.”

Kourounis documents weather phenomena around the world for National Geographic and presented the hit TV series Angry Planet. His talk is the latest in a series of talks leading up to the Cities and Climate Change Science Conference in Edmonton next March.

The Examiner caught up with the Quebec native while he was travelling in the United States.

Edmonton Examiner: If we could be at any restaurant in the world right now, where would we be?

Kourounis: We would be sitting on the deck of a Russian icebreaker in the Arctic plowing through the sea, which I’ve done many times. We would be drinking a gin and tonic chipped from an iceberg that is 10,000 years old, predating the industrial revolution, so you know it’s pure and tasty.

EE: How did this journey across the planet begin?

GK: When I was a kid, I was always interested in science and nature and I pursued a career in engineering. I built recording studios. In 1998, I chased my first tornado in the small town of Medford, Oklahoma. It was coming towards us and we got stuck in a ditch, so the adrenaline was pumping. It was an experience I will never forget and the one that got me hooked. I quickly branched into hurricanes, forest fires — you name it.

EE: Your most fascinating journey — the first place that comes to mind.

GK: Darvaza. It’s a burning crater of flaming methane gas in the country of Turkmenistan. It looks like a volcano in the middle of the desert, and I’m the only person to ever set foot at the bottom. On a science grant, I went to the bottom (of the 226-foot crater) to get soil samples and see if we can find life in this extremely dry place. (The fire has burned since 1971). It was like being at the Coliseum of fire. I found several species of bacteria at the bottom, at least one that was metabolizing and consuming the methane.

EE: Is there something in particular you look to capture when you observe these events?

GK: I want to capture the image of a place on Earth that is going through a transition. One per cent of the time, hell is breaking loose somewhere and that’s what I want to capture. I have destroyed pretty much every manufacturer of camera – Cannon, Nikon. You build a cam, I can break it. Saltwater is my biggest enemy, so hurricanes do some damage.

EE: Have your experiences in the last two decades impacted your religious beliefs?

GK: I’m not a religious person and I never was. You would think that a lot of people would say witnessing these phenomena would make you more religious, but I think it has the opposite effect. All of these things can be explained through science, it’s the best tool we have for learning about the world.

EE: What are your pro-tips for persevering through a 20-hour flight?

GK: I travel between 150 and 200 nights a year, so I would say a good eye mask and noise cancelling headphones make a world of a difference. Melatonin works really well for me. The worst jetlag is in India because it’s exactly 12 hours, so you can’t be more off.

EE: What message do you have for the audience?

GK: I want people to be curious and not take the outside world for granted. Get off the couch and go to the local park, or go on a plane and visit the Amazon. We only care about the things we are familiar with, and the more distant we are from nature, the less we’ll be inclined to protect it.

EE: How can your experiences relate to taking action on climate change?

GK: I want to show people how bad, bad can be. By showcasing Mother Nature at its worst, I can show people what to expect more of — floods, storms, fires, that sort of stuff. People often ask what is the easiest thing I can do today that could make the biggest impact. It’s three words, eat less meat. Especially red meat and pork, they have a tremendous carbon footprint.